Death after fall ruled homicide

Autopsy shows victim died of injuries from punch sustained 11 days earlier.

Autopsy shows victim died of injuries from punch sustained 11 days earlier.

January 05, 2006|PATRICK M. O'CONNELL Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- A South Bend man who was punched during an altercation at his River Park home died Tuesday of blunt force trauma to the head and neck, 11 days after suffering the injuries caused by the blow, officials said. The death of Michael K. Kovacevich, 47, has been ruled a homicide, St. Joseph County deputy coroner Chuck Hurley said. Kovacevich was rushed to the hospital after his mother found him inside his home in the 700 block of South 32nd Street, where the man had fallen in the shower, Hurley said. Kovacevich likely lost his balance and struck his head on a spigot, the deputy coroner said. When Kovacevich's mother arrived, the man was unable to talk and he had suffered an injury to the right side of his head. But an autopsy performed Wednesday concluded that Kovacevich died as a result of injuries to the left side of his head and neck, not the contusion on the right side caused by his fall in the shower, Hurley said. The initial head injuries reportedly occurred about 1 a.m. Dec. 24, when a 34-year-old Michigan City man showed up on Kovacevich's doorstep and delivered a punch to the left side of Kovacevich's head, police said. Kovacevich fell onto a coffee table after the punch, Hurley said. Kovacevich told the responding police officer he had been receiving angry phone calls from the suspect for about a week. The suspect, Kovacevich said, was upset that Kovacevich had been talking with the suspect's ex-girlfriend, according to the police report. The suspect reportedly told Kovacevich in a phone call that "I'm going to kill you," the report stated. After the suspect left on Christmas Eve and Kovacevich met with an officer, a medic arrived on the scene but Kovacevich declined treatment, according to the police report. The pathologist's full autopsy report may help determine if the assault injuries contributed to Kovacevich's fall in the shower, Hurley said. The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit is investigating the case.